Usinamiss

Since Aug 2025

Brazzaville, Brazzaville, Congo

New Challenge in Brazaville for the opening of a hotel. Family expatriation.
Teacher

2023 - Aug 2025

Abidjan, Ivory Coast

We were planning for several years, but we are still quite disappointed with this city and this country. We were hoping for more of a change of scenery and we are finally thinking of leaving quite quickly.
I'm a teacher, my husband is in the hotel industry, and work really takes up all of our energy. It's hard to find time to do anything else.
Life is easy there, the roads are perfect, the facilities are numerous. The police are quite efficient and ask for assistance in a friendly manner. The beaches are beautiful and are not very far away. The Ivorians are rather friendly and don't beg as much as in Senegal!
The geography of Abidjan can make travel difficult. It's too French, it's completely lacking in exoticism. The surrounding nature is ravaged by thousands of hectares of palm, rubber and coconut plantations. Insects are disappearing, it's an ecological tragedy. Tourist infrastructure is really too expensive. There isn't much variety on offer.

2018 - Mar 2023

Kinshasa, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo

I'm having some difficulty approaching this city which is more difficult than anything I've experienced so far. If you are European and have never been an expatriate in Africa before, and you have an opportunity here, contact me! I know several families who couldn't put up with it and who went back home broke up. The clash of cultures can be violent. To live happily in Kinshasa, you have to work there :) If you are a stay-at-home mother, it's more difficult.
Teacher
The flora is sumptuous! The Congolese people are really super nice.
Insecurity, especially from the police. Limiting leisure. A kind of blues that everyone feels more or less violently. No one seems to like it here and runs away at the slightest opportunity. We quickly feel limited in activities, we go around in circles. It is therefore important to create a cozy nest at home.

Aug 2014 - Jul 2018

Dakar, Senegal

I followed my husband. A period of discovery and networking later, I am currently working in local crafts. My husband manages two large hotels on the plateau, as head chef.
The welcoming population (in the bush). The landscapes turn out to be surprisingly varied if you get off the beaten track. There are lots of surprising places, you can really go sightseeing almost everywhere. It takes 3 or 4 years with several long weekends and a few weeks to consider having visited the country. In Africa, this is rare....
In Dakar, we are literally harassed by beggars and sellers of all kinds. Pollution is also wreaking havoc throughout the country, it's sad to see this waste.

May 2005 - Jun 2014

Frontière suisse pays de gex, Switzerland

We stayed there for almost ten years, had the house built there, had our children... A little too long for my taste!
Several strings to my credit: real estate, golf...
It's very beautiful, in landscape it's superb. Very green (because of the rain?), and very clean, very polite.
The stay-at-home mentality of the locals and even those who, like us, came from elsewhere. A sort of judgment on the standard of living too.

Jan 2003 - Jun 2003

Praslin, Seychelles

We didn't stay there long, the employer was too problematic.
The LANDSCAPES undoubtedly the most BEAUTIFUL in the world, it is absolutely SPLENDID!!!!! The locals are friendly, the food is tasty. Just bend down to catch fish, or raise your hand to pick fruit.
The locals keep to themselves, it's difficult to integrate. You should also know that it is a dictatorship, like in Cuba, the people have nothing and have little perspective. Apart from luxury tourism which fills the pockets of the state.... Imports are so expensive that we didn't even have a car: absolutely financially untouchable.

Jan 2001 - Jun 2001

Saint Barth, Saint Martin

In reality it was St Barth ;)

France